Need a fast point and shoot

[MJS]

Allright, I need to pick everyone's brains. I just got the UPS delivery today of a new Coolpix P5000. Nice camera, good layout, great picture, wonderful features etc. It's just ridiculously slow. I can't believe that Nikon can get the shutter lag problem fixed with the DSLR's and keep doggin it with the P/S crop. I changed tons of settings, tried to optimize, shot in different light settings and still reached the same conclusion, too slow for anything but autopsy shots and still lifes, because real life just won't stand still that long.

Any suggestions for a faster acting, 9-10 mp from one of the majors that has auto, aperture, shutter, manual and program modes?

[Jimmy B]

PM Tadrscin, he has a pretty good sony I think it is.
Jimmy B

[Greg McCary]

I thought all P&S cameras have shutter lag. Even my 510 in live preview has shutter lag. Does it have something to do with the LCD screen?
Greg

[Rocket_Scientist]

...Does it have something to do with the LCD screen?...

The LCD screen certainly contributes to the shutter lag, but I don't think turning it off will completely eliminate it. There's also flash charging time, as well as [re-]auto-focusing. Many cameras have the ability to take several shots with one press of the shutter button, and you may be able to "lock" the focus and settings. Another thing one can do is use manual settings, if available. But, alas, I guess some shutter lag will always be with us.

[JSPhoto]

MJS,

I doubt you'll find such a P&S. They just are not designed for much other than still life. I tried out someones P&S at the race in Ky and found the shutter lag on this newer version was slower than my old Olympus I used 5 or 6 years ago, although the file size and quality of the pictures was "better", I don't think they have seen the need to change the lag issues on P&S cameras. It may be intentional, so you'll buy a DSLR to get away from the shutter lag.

JS

[mn shutterbug]

Most P & S cameras have a continous (burst mode), as does yours. However, I see your Nikon still will only be able to capture 0.8 frames per second at that. My panasonic will shoot 3 fps on burst mode. Your Nikon probably is slower than most in this department.

[JSPhoto]

Most P & S cameras have a continous (burst mode), as does yours. However, I see your Nikon still will only be able to capture 0.8 frames per second at that. My panasonic will shoot 3 fps on burst mode. Your Nikon probably is slower than most in this department.

Although it does work together somewhat, he is meaning shutter lag, not FPS, the time you push ythe shutter button and gap before it actually actuates the shutter, which can be a very long time. I remember one P&S you'd snap the shutter as the football was snapped and try and follow the play looking through a closed shutter and about the time the guy would get tackled the shutter would oppen again you'd get one or two good shots a game with that thing.

[Mr Yuck]

you gotta press down shutter button halfway to let it focus on the subject, meter, etc, the camera will indicate that it's ready, then press the button the rest of the way and there's pretty much no shutter lag. Setup will never be as fast as a DSLR though, where you can turn it on and take a pic in less than a second.

[MJS]

Thanks for the input. I was looking for something with a faster focus and shutter release. My daughter has the little pink polaroid 533 that's noticeably faster as is our Sea & Sea 750G Underwater camera. PJ mentioned that the Canon A640 was pretty quick and took a nice shot with aperture, shutter and program capability. Any of you folks have one and more importantly, are youi happy with it?

[mn shutterbug]

Although it does work together somewhat, he is meaning shutter lag, not FPS, the time you push ythe shutter button and gap before it actually actuates the shutter, which can be a very long time. I remember one P&S you'd snap the shutter as the football was snapped and try and follow the play looking through a closed shutter and about the time the guy would get tackled the shutter would oppen again you'd get one or two good shots a game with that thing.

This reminds me of the Sony Mavica I used to own. It put the pictures on floppy disks. It took about 7 seconds to actually take the shot. Anything is an improvement over that.

[freygr]

This reminds me of using the old (now and still working) Olympus C-3030. You had to setup the scene and press the shutter button halfway and wait for the action you desired to happen be it children playing, or waves braking etc. The shutter lag was about 1/2 second but you missed allot of action photos with it.

[polarbeardiggers]

i have the sony h5 point and shot,but from what i hear the olympus 550uz,a point and shoot camera that has all the bells and whistles you want,but by pressing the shutter down half way it will already store 5 frames in memory before you even finish the button release,sounds pretty fast to me especially if its set in auto preset mode,can't miss a shot there,i was so close to buying the olympus 550uz,but the picture quality on the sony out preforms it,so just my two cents.

[JSPhoto]

Well once I got it figured out I did get a lot of usefull photos, but that was a pain! The nice thing was it did have an f2,8 lens on it so low light wasn't an issue and it had a 10x zoom... can't remember the # on it off hand though. Great camera other than the lag.

JS

[deckcadet]

Lag on P&S's isn't going away. It'll be there, if only to distinguish the DSLRs from the P&S crowd

Remember a lot of this is focus related too, and since Point and shoots depend on contrast detection rather than phase detection AF, and simultaneously must output 30fps to video, adjust WB on the fly (for the video preview as well), amplify the image preview, and so on... it can get pretty complicated for the low cost P&S's.

It wouldnt surprise me if the advanced P&S cameras have *more* lag than some lower end ones because of the more complex and precise optical systems involved.

[Glasstream15]

My new Canon S5IS is fairly quick, especially if you turn off image review. I mostly leave it on 2 seconds which delays my next shot but when I press the shutter it generally snaps very quickly. I can catch the cats in their antics.

That said, it is no where near my XT. Almost faster than I can think and the Tamron 18-200 zoom gives me just about the S5s equivalent zoom. And the newer 18-250 Tamron is even better. But I really do like the S5IS. Great little walk around P&S.

[Liz]

My new Canon S5IS is fairly quick, especially if you turn off image review. I mostly leave it on 2 seconds which delays my next shot but when I press the shutter it generally snaps very quickly. I can catch the cats in their antics.

That said, it is no where near my XT. Almost faster than I can think and the Tamron 18-200 zoom gives me just about the S5s equivalent zoom. And the newer 18-250 Tamron is even better. But I really do like the S5IS. Great little walk around P&S.

I agree about the Canon S5IS. I was just coming here to post about the S5 and read this. My main camera is the XTi - and I agree, there is no comparison between a P&S and DSLR when it comes to shutter speed.

Having said that, I used to own the G3 and the shutter lag did try my patience quite a few times so I expected the worse from the S5 and I must say that I've been pleasantly surprised. It is definitely faster than any p&s cameras I've tried and I've tried quite a few as I've helped my friends to find some small cameras.

The S5 also has some great features including a flexible LCD screen which is excellent for capturing subjects at odd angles and above crowds. It also has a 432mm zoom which is really great. I've gotten some sharp results at 432mm - and I have a slight camera shake problem. It's a great camera.

Here is a link from B&H with all the specifications of the camera.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...S_Digital.html

IMHO it's probably about the best you will do with a p&s. It's worth a shot!

Liz

[mn shutterbug]

I just looked over the specs of the Canon and the Panasonic FZ8. Shutter lag isn't specified on the Canon but it's just 0.005 on the Panasonic. Time between shots with the Canon is about 1 second and with the Pana, it's only 0.6 seconds. Also, burst mode with the Canon is only 1.5 fps and with the Panasonic it's 3 fps. There can be quite a difference between P & S's. I've never been disappointed with the lag time on my Panasonic. Then again, I haven't got spoiled with a DSLR.

[MJS]

I have a Canon SD850 IS on the way and the P5000 heading back. I'll post a few after it arrives. Thanks for all of the input. I liked the look of the S%, but wanted something a bit more pocketable, if there is such a word.